Maggie Mae
by nicolesoul
Summary: Max hates the morning after. He likes it when they leave before he wakes up, preferable without his money. Unfortunately, Miss Maggie Mae will do no such thing. Not now anyway. Max/OC
1. Chapter 1

_Oh dirty Maggie Mae they have taken her away  
And she never walks down Lime Street any more  
Oh the judge he guilty found her  
For robbing a homeward bounder  
That dirty no good robbin' Maggie Mae  
'Twas the port of Liverpool  
They returned me to  
Two pounds ten a week there was my pay_

_-Maggie Mae  
_

* * *

1-

The first time he meets her is cliché.

In his opinion anyway.

He's driving in his taxi not paying attention to the waving arms calling for his services. Which in any other city might be a problem, but this is New York City, and As far as he's concerned, going past customers is really more of his job than picking them up.

Until he sees her, standing there on the sidewalk, outside an apartment building looking lost. He can tell from her dress and the fact that it's that time in the morning just why she was there.

She flails her arm above her bed head of brown hair and he can't help but pull over. He's a sucker for a damsel in distress, even more so for a professional damsel.

"Where ya headin' cutie?" He winks in the rearview mirror and she rolls her eyes but then smiles brightly, "Where ever you're willing to go."

He takes her to his shit apartment.

When they enter, she takes a peak around and then watches him take his shoes off and throw his coat on the floor. He shouldn't be doing this on time that could be spent driving the taxi, but he doesn't really give a fuck. The meter's running anyway.

They're done a half hour later. Max falls asleep and when he wakes up, she's gone leaving only a note behind.

It reads 'My time is more valuable than yours.'

His wallet is also empty.

* * *

A/N-

Oh no another Max/OC story!

Suck it up

Each chapter will be between 200 and 300 words


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- I own Maggie minus the name

* * *

2-

The second time he meets her is on purpose.

He's been stalking out the streets at night, ignoring offers waved in his face in search of her. Nobody steals from Max Carrigan.

He describes her as short with crazy hair and wilder eyes. He can't remember what color they are, but it doesn't matter, no one seems to know anything about a girl like that.

Max gives up around 1 AM and heads over to the nearest bar to have a drink before they close. At about 1.45, when it's just him, the bartender, and a bum nursing his beer in the corner, she comes in.

"You!" He points at her and the girl raises a brow, "Me?"

He nods and she sits down on the bar stool next to him, "A friend of mine told me you were looking for me."

"Yeah." He squints, "Gimme my money." He holds out his hand expectantly and the bartender looks between two.

"Your money?" She replies, "It's mine fair and square. Or did you not get my note?"

He replies with a few foul words regarding her and her mother and she shrugs, "How about a freebie to even us out?"

He doesn't want to agree, despite the fact that the offer is very tempting, so they sit in silence from 15 minutes. Once out on the street, Max decides he has no choice.

The next morning, she remains for breakfast.

* * *

A/N-

Review please


	3. Chapter 3

3-

"Do you always cry in your sleep?"

Max hates the morning after.

He hates the ones who sit around demanding there be some sort of commitment.

He hates the ones who ask him questions.

He hates the ones he doesn't remember.

He likes it when they leave, preferable without his money.

This morning is no different. The girl with crazy hair and wild eyes sits at his (well, Jude and Lucy's, as they paid for it) kitchen table, sipping coffee he didn't even know they had. She repeats the question.

"No." He snatches the pot, pours himself a mug, and throws himself down on the chair across from her.

"Not a morning person I'm guessing." He ignores the comment and the two sit for a moment.

"What's your name any way?" Max doesn't know why he's asking her this, anonymous sex is his specialty, but his curiosity gets the better of him. Plus if she takes more of his money, it'll be easier to hunt her down.

"Maggie Mae." She responds

"No last name?"

"Don't need one."

He thinks of the phrase 'communist bullshit'. It was one his captain had been fond of shouting, whether the situation called for it or not.

For a moment, Max considers sharing it with Maggie Mae, but he doesn't.

"Your name is Max, right?" He doesn't ask why she knows that, just nods, and the rest of their coffee feast is in silence.

* * *

A/N-

Thanks to everyone who has my story on alert (I'm assuming this means you read and liked it =])

Also, thanks TakeMeOrLeaveMe2010 for the review (I finished your story and loved it)


	4. Chapter 4

4-

Jude and Lucy stop by around noon, Maggie hasn't left.

After coffee, they went at it again. Surprisingly, she isn't worse without alcohol. If anything, she's better. She doesn't say a word about his scars either, which is nice.

Then Lucy and Jude come by to check up on him, make sure he hasn't killed himself. Maggie's in the shower and you can hear it running from where they sit, but neither says anything.

They exchange some words and news, about Sadie and Jojo, Prudence, his parents. They tell him their worried about him. They say he needs to get out of the apartment once in a while.

He thinks they need to spend some time apart from each other, but says nothing.

When the water shuts off, the two leave, and Max wonders if they were curious to who was with him.

"Sorry, I couldn't stay in there any longer." Maggie comes out dripping in a towel. She looks different, and Max realizes it's because her curls have been dragged down by the water so that they're almost straight.

"You didn't have to." She shrugs and mutters something about making things easier.

They stand at opposite ends of the room staring at each other.

"You know," Maggie says thoughtfully, "I know what you are."

Max doesn't miss a beat, "I know what you are too."

They both stand ready to draw, like cowboys is a western, but Maggie shoots first, "Ready for some afternoon delight?"

It isn't surprising that Max can't avoid the bullet.

* * *

A/N-

In case you wanted to know, Maggie's last line comes from this song from the 70's, Afternoon Delight by the Starlight Vocal Band. It won't come out for a few more years in this story, but I enjoy the song.

Also sorry if Max coming off as a absolute sex fiend bothers you, I didn't realize it until I went back and read the end of this chapter and was like 'why can't he avoid the bullet?'

Ah well, review please!


	5. Chapter 5

5-

She leaves after the third round.

He knows because she kissed him on the nose, which woke him up.

He remembers her hair was dry and back to it's frizzy self.

What he can't figure out is why she's back in the kitchen.

"Thought you'd left." He remarks.

"I did." She's cooking something at the stove he didn't even know worked.

"But you're back now." His voice is dry and it's clear he was hoping she was gone for good.

She just stands there moving around what smells like bacon on the pan and despite the fact he doesn't really want her here at all, Max wishes she was more like the playful prostitute he brought home that first night.

"I'm not a charity case." He doesn't need the sympathy of some hooker who listened to him cry at night.

"Neither am I." She tosses him a sign written in Lucy's handwriting. It reads 'Roommate?' and below that has a poorly drawn caricature of Max (probably drawn by Jude) looking sad.

"Don't you already have an apartment?" He asks scowling at the drawing, he hates when Jude draws him. The Brit used to do it the time when they first got to New York (which seems like forever ago) but then Lucy became his inspiration.

She doesn't answer, but pulls out a wad of bills and throws them on the table. Max doesn't need to count them to know that it's enough to pay the bills and then some.

He swipes the money off the table and points towards the room to his right, "You can use that room."

He can't help but hope she won't spend much time there.

* * *

A/N- Haha! We reach the plot. Sort of.

Okay, I'll be honest, this story doesn't really have a plot.

It also doesn't have many Beatles references. Hmm

Review please! TakeMeOrLeaveMe2010 IS my only reviewer so far, and as amazing as they are, I need more!

I know you're reading.


	6. Chapter 6

6-

Max soon learns that Maggie comes and goes as she pleases.

At all hours of the night and day, which one might not think of as a problem, considering Max's own employment, but Maggie's hours seem to always contradict his. And he was beginning to wonder if she was doing it on purpose, just to torture him.

She's also stopped having sex with him. This is a problem because Max was looking forward to getting laid without having to pay afterward.

But Maggie pays the rent and the bills. She's makes breakfast at least once a week. Max knows he shouldn't complain.

He does anyway. "Oh Maggie Mae," He waltzes into her room when she comes home that afternoon; she's standing in the middle of the floor about to change and glares at him.

"Yeah?" She asks squeezing out of her tight dress that Max wishes she would leave on a little longer.

"I'm bored."

"Then go to work." She glances at the clock on the wall and Max rolls his eyes. Maggie never knows what time it is. "I've got the day off."

She pulls a loose shirt on, one that looks like it might belong to Sadie, and shrugs, "What do you want me to do about it then?"

It's the wrong question to ask and they both know it, but before he can get the words out, she shoots him down. "No."

"Why?" He whines as she pushes past his lanky frame in the doorway and he follows her. "Because," She replies tossing him a wink before grabbing her coat and heading out the front door. "You're not my type."

Max didn't know prostitutes were so picky.

* * *

A/N- Thanks everyone for your reviews! But I expect twice the amount now!


	7. Chapter 7

7-

"How's it going?"

Maggie glances up at the blonde in front of her and answers "Fine", before taking a sip of her tea and staring out the window of the small café.

"And by fine you mean-" "Penny." Maggie puts her mug down and sends a hard glare at her friend.

"What?" Penny says matching her tone, "You disappear, then come back to tell me you found a new apartment and you're thinking of finding a new job? I mean what else could it fucking be Mags?"

"I'm not pregnant." Maggie sighs and fixes her eyes on the street; pregnancy always seemed to be Penny's conclusion. "Does it belong to the guy who came looking for you?" Penny asks.

"I'm not pregnant." Maggie repeats. She doesn't mention that she has moved in with him, male roommates were forbidden in Penny's rulebook.

"Than why?" Finally, she drags her eyes up to meet Penny's. "I can't live like this. Not forever."

Penny softens, "You're only 25, honey there are much older broads on the street, look at me."

"It's not my age Pen." Maggie says, "I'm just tired of it."

"What," Penny mocks, "You wanna settle down, have a couple kids, live the suburbia dream?"

Maggie does not tell her friend yes, that she wouldn't mind getting out of the city. That, despite the fact that it was once so exciting; she was bored of it now. She didn't tell her that she missed her broken family and wished she could take back her last name. She doesn't mention the reason she moved in to Max's apartment or why she wants to quit being a hooker.

Because this is Penny Lane and you simply do not tell her these things.

So instead Maggie laughs, shakes her head, and the conversation is swept under the rug.

* * *

A/N- So I went 3 words over on this, but I doubt you're going to complain.

And yes a minor look into Maggie's life! Now you know her age and that she has friend. yay progress!

Oh and for refrences sake Max is 24 and the time is 1972-1973-ish


	8. Chapter 8

8-

When they've been living together for a month, Max starts to get antsy.

He's tried every trick in the book, but Maggie refuses to comply.

"I have sex everyday. What makes you think I want to come home and have it here too?" She tells him when he opens the door naked.

"I don't believe in free sex without a relationship and I'm not getting into a relationship with you." She slurs to him after the sixth or seventh drink he's pushed in front of her.

It's not as though he's dying. There've been other girls. But somehow, he's let his and Maggie's three day affair become so exaggerated in his mind that he needs to have sex with her at least one more time to make sure at least some of it was real.

"Of course it was real." Maggie tells him when he gets desperate and reveals this to her, "And of course it's become exaggerated, you were fucking smashed."

Max can't help but notice that Maggie has an answer or excuse for everything.

"It always helps to be prepared." She says while getting dressed on morning.

"You've never been caught off guard? Never had an answer?" He challenges.

"Well of course I have." She rolls her eyes, "Just not by you. You're too predictable."

Max isn't sure if this is an insult, but he can't help but remember the careless kid who hit golf balls off his dorm's roof and decided to go to New York after one dinner with his folks.

"I'm not predictable." He retorts, finally deciding on insulted.

"Of course not," Maggie says mockingly

"I'm not!" Max protests

"No, you're just a five year old." She says, and that's the end of the conversation.

He wonders how she always gets the last word.

* * *

A/N

Miss me?

I give you nekkid Max, you give me reviews, yes?


	9. Chapter 9

9-

"I can't take it man!" Max complains over the phone to Jude.

Jude sighs and Max can see him rubbing his charcoaled hands over his face. "Then kick her out." He suggests.

"Do you know how many times my power got shut off before she came?" Max says

"Six?" Jude guesses.

"Try fourteen!" Jude can't figure out how that's possible if Max has only been living alone for about a year. "And guess how many times it's gone off since she's come?"

"None?" Lucy peeks in the room and looks at Jude curiously, 'Max' he mouths and she nods.

"None!" Max repeats pacing the kitchen, "I mean, how could I get rid of her?"

"So let me just get this straight," Jude says, "You've got this girl paying all of your rent so you don't want to get rid of her, but she won't have sex with you, so you do?"

"Yes!" Max exclaims, "So you see my problem?"

"Yeah," Jude says, "But I don't know if it's the girl."

"Oh shut up." Max scowls, "This is your fault anyway."

"The sign? That was Lucy's idea."

"Of course it was. How do I know you two didn't interview a bunch of girls to pay my rent and keep an eye on me?" Max has been suspicious of the sign since Maggie brought it in.

"Because that is stupid idea." Jude replies, "Luce and I know you can take care of yourself Max."

Max doubts this, but he's run out of arguments, and craving a cigarette. "Okay man," He resigns, "I'll see you later."

"Alright," Jude says "At Sadie and Jojo's concert?"

"Maybe." Max wasn't planning on going, but it might just be the perfect opportunity to show Jude and Lucy how Maggie was.

Or uncover their secret conspiracy.

* * *

A/N- Secret conspiracy=my first plot, but I ended up scrapping it for a coincidence.

The reason I put this chapter out today was for one reason only. Paul McCartney was on Stephen Colbert

=] So funny


	10. Chapter 10

10- 298

When he first introduces the idea, Maggie is against it.

Meeting his friends? She might as well meet his folks.

Maggie tallies it with the attempts to get her back in his bed and tries to push the idea to the back of her mind.

Unfortunately Maggie Mae is the curious sort and she can't help but want to meet the mysterious Jude and Lucy she hears Max talking to on the phone.

So it's the curiosity Maggie blames when she finds herself shoved in the middle of dark room with Max behind her.

"Head towards the stage!" He shouts over the din. She nods and they head to the front weaving around the already drunk patrons of the bar.

Once they're in front brightly lit stage, Max begins whispering in her ear. "You'll love Sadie and Jojo, the way she sings and how he plays the guitar, it's amazing…"

He continues but Maggie tunes him out until a call of "Max!" refocuses her attention. Max turns around and waves widely. Maggie tries to avoid the beer flying out of the cup that's somehow found its way into his hand.

"By the way," Max says quickly as a blond girl and a dark haired man emerge from the crowd (Maggie isn't sure how she knows, but she's sure the couple is Lucy and Jude) "I told them we'd go out after."

"Including me?" Maggie glares sharply at Max who shrugs. She's about to scream bloody murder at her roommate but Lucy and Jude reach them just as a spotlights hit the stage and the band walks out.

Instead the girl swears to herself that she will not be going with them as a raspy voice fills the crowed room.

_Why don't we do it in the road?_

_

* * *

_

A/N- Yes, yes, I couldn't be bothered to actually find a new song for Sadie to sing.

That's what you get for no reveiws.

Just Kidding

By the way, if anyone's interested in Beta-ing this story I'd be overjoyed


	11. Chapter 11

11-

The transition from the dark bar to the brightly lit café leaves Lucy blinking rapidly in a way she hasn't since the first time she came to New York. It's been a while since she's done it and she can't help but be jealous of the others for their natural ability to adjust to the difference.

It's a stupid thing to be jealous of, and she would never admit it, but the feelings still there.

Lucy squints towards her brother and his roommate, Maggie, arguing quietly. As thrilled as she was to know that Max had finally gotten someone who could actually pay the bills, Maggie made her nervous.

She was a perfectly nice girl, Lucy supposed, but she couldn't help but feel there was something off about her.

Maybe she had some prejudice about hookers? No, Lucy had never had any problem with them. She had no reason to be hostile towards the other girl.

"So Maggie, where are you from?" Maggie turned from listening to Sadie and Max's argument over which soup was best at Katz's.

"Oh, um, Ohio." She grabbed a strand of hair and began twisting it between her fingers. Prudence perked up.

"No way! Me too."

Maggie gave a wary smile, "Really? How crazy." She grabbed the drink in front of her and took a large gulp. Max turned around, "Mags, that's mine."

The girl paid him no mind.

Lucy and Jude exchanged glances from across the table.

"What part?" Prudence leaned forward eagerly.

Maggie blinked, "Near Cleveland."

Prudence pouts, "Aw, I lived in Dayton."

Maggie nods and Max says something about not knowing she was from out of town.

Lucy can't help but get the feeling something's not right.

* * *

A/N-I dislike this chapter

Dayton to Cleveland is about 213 miles if you were wondering (yay google maps)

Alright guys, here's the deal: if I get at least 5 reviews before Monday I'll bump up my word count to 300-500 words

Now review, review for your life!


	12. Chapter 12

12-

Despite Maggie's claims, Max is pretty sure she did not have a great time after Sadie's concert.

She's been around less, drinking more, and started smoking, although she claims she's always done that.

And worse than any of that, Max has woken up three times now to nearly nude guys walking around his kitchen. Honestly, if he wanted to see this much naked male ass, he'd go back to living in a dorm.

But Maggie simply waves her share (the majority) of the rent in front of his face every time and Max is reduced to locking himself in his room.

But the forth time the blond finds a random guy in his robe (how he got it remains a mystery) pouring his coffee into his mug, Max decides he's had enough.

"Morning stranger." The guy says brightly. Max suspects he's on something. No man is as energetic as this dude, bouncing around the kitchen, in the morning.

"Who are you?" Max hopes he sounds half as threatening as he thinks he does, quickly forming a plan in his head.

"Name's Johnny. Are you Maggie's roommate?" Johnny offers a hand and Max tries to swell his face up like his Dad's when he's angry.

"Roommate? Is that what she told you?" Johnny looks intimidated and Max gives himself a mental pat on the back. "I'm her boyfriend!" He roars. Who knew shouting makes you feel taller? Johnny's easily got a couple inches on Max, but he feels ten feet taller. The other man now looks shaken.

"Listen man, I didn't know, she told me she was single I swear!" Johnny grabs his pants off the chair as he backs out towards the door.

"Get out of my house!" Johnny doesn't even seem to notice that Max forgot that he lives in an apartment; he's out of the place so fast.

"Morning!" Maggie steps out of her room just in time, hair soaked from the shower. Looking around curiously, she turns to Max, "Where'd Johnny go?"

Max takes the cup of coffee Johnny had been pouring and takes a sip, "I told him I was your boyfriend and he walked out." Max pauses thoughtfully and looks over at the door, "On second thought it was more of a run."

Maggie, for once, is speechless.

* * *

A/N- This is really just a silly filler chapter.

So I didn't get my requested 5 reveiws (really guys? It's not like it's that much) but I still got two so I bumped the word count up 100 words (between 300-400)


	13. Chapter 13

13-

"You need some company honey?"

"Need a ride sweetheart?"

Maggie takes a drag from cigarette and tries to block out the catcalls from the girls on the corner. A rather large car's pulled up and they've begun to crowd. She should be with them, at least trying to do her job, but she's not in the mood.

'_Not in the mood?_' Her inner Penny cries '_What's wrong with you?_'

"Lookin' for a good time?"

"It ain't no fun to be alone on a Friday night."

A man in the car sticks a hand out the window, waving them away, but none of the girls leave.

Maggie knows what's wrong, she's been thinking too much. Whenever she thinks, bad things happen.

The last time something like this happened, she was stuck standing in Grand Central Station like a lost puppy. A stupid hopeful puppy that thought the world was filled sunshine and rainbows and all it took to make your dreams come true was talent and hope, or some shit like that.

She attempts to exhale in smoke rings and thinks a little bit more.

No, the last time she had thought like this, she had found herself back in Ohio, the one place she swore she would never be, waiting for the one thing she swore she'd never see.

It had been a record-breaking day.

"I'm ready to go baby."

"This what you're looking for sweetie?"

A redhead flounces out of the building across the street and into the town car. The other girls pout and a one girl sticks her middle finger up at the car.

The curly haired girl drops what's left of her smoke and grinds it into the sidewalk with her heel. Staring now, she's going to stop thinking. Maggie Mae leaves the sidewalk and walks with purpose back home.

Behind her, a tall blond watches her walk away. Penny Lane shakes her head in disgust. She knows something's not right and she's going to get to the bottom of it.

Starting with that boy Maggie's been with, he's got to go.

The man calls out the window to the fleeting women, "Sorry ladies, can't buy me love."

* * *

**A/N-** Would you look at that? A Beatles reference. A lame one, but still

Anyways, I guess you guys don't care much for my story any more. I haven't gotten any reveiws in a long while. Bu that's okay, I'll just starve in the corner (the reviews keep me alive you know)

Oh and **I'm also looking for a Beta** if anyone cares to try


	14. Chapter 14

14-380

Maggie stares up at the ceiling fan. The blades rotate painfully slow, almost in tune to the noise coming from Max's room.

At first they went followed the loud thumping, curses, and cries to God. Then they timed the beat of a slightly drunk blond stumbling around a room trying to find her dress. Finally the blades carried the tune of sobs, low and deep, and names rattled off between gibberish and apologies, the song Maggie was currently listening to.

Benny, Henry, Paulie – Maggie squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block out Max, but her effort was futile – I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry – She wondered if she should go in. Calm him down or something. – Jim, George, Billy.

The brunette's eyes shot open and she threw her blankets off, scampering across the floor into the hallway. Billy, Billy, _Billy. _Had Max really said Billy?

Maggie hesitated at the doorway of Max's room. She could see him from here, tossing and turning, flailing his arms at the ghosts that surrounded him. The girl walked in carefully with her arms outstretched. She catches his waving arms and pins them to his side, Max whimpers.

Carefully, Maggie climbs into the bed and straddles Max, making sure not to put too much of her weight on him. He turns his head –eyes still shut –and mutters, "No, no, no, come back."

Maggie leans in closer to Max's face, "It's okay," She whispers "You know it's gonna be alright." The girl let go of his arms and slowly laid herself down next to Max in the bed so that she was facing him. "Max" She said softly, tracing her fingers down the side of his face, following the path of his tears, "Why are you crying?"

Max reaches out suddenly and pulls her closer to him, Maggie winces at the roughness of his pull put relaxes in her arms and finds herself sleepy for the first time that night.

"Did you know my Billy, Max?" She murmurs in his ear.

Max grimaces in his sleep, "Don't you know it's gonna be alright?" He repeats back to her.

"You awake Max?" Max buries his face in her curls and Maggie, eyes already closed, doesn't bother to figure out if that means yes or no.

* * *

A/N- Oh my gosh you guys I'm not going to make you wait! In the next couple chapters you'll find out who Billy is (was?), why Maggie was nervous talking about her home, and more!

BUT, I'm currently in the process of writing a 10-15 page story for my application to a summer creative writing program, so I'm not entirely sure how fast they're gonna go up!

[Reviews might help the process!]


	15. Chapter 15

15-

For the first time in a while, Max wakes up to the smell of breakfast.

He hasn't realized it's been so long until the sweet scent of bacon hits him and his stomach grumbles that it's been too long. He tries to do the math and figures the last time Maggie made him breakfast was before the concert.

Then his stomach grumbles again and Max could care less when the last time Maggie cooked was, as long as she's cooking now.

"Hey." He grins when he reached the kitchen and Maggie, who's sitting at the table, looks up and smiles back. "Morning."

The bacon sizzles in the pan and Max gladly dumps it onto a plate before crashing into the seat across the table from Maggie. "It's good." He informs her in between bites.

Maggie nods and bites her bottom lip, watching him through her lashes. "Hey Max?" she asks when he's about half way done his breakfast.

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if we could talk about something."

"Sure, what?" He's up for anything after breakfast.

She's not sure how to go about this, she hasn't mentioned his nightmares or his crying since they're first night together, so the brunette decides to jump in. "Your nightmares."

Max stops mid-chew and stares her straight in the eye. "What?"

"You know…the crying, the screaming." Max drops his bacon. What he had believed to be a dream last night, of Maggie coming in and comforting him, of her sleeping next to him, it couldn't have been real, could it?

"What about it?"

"Do you think maybe talking about it might help?" She asks. Really all Maggie wants to know is about Billy. If he's her Billy

"I don't think that's how it works Mags." He deflects. He can dance around this conversation like a pro by now. His sister, his friends, his parents, they've all tried before.

"You mentioned a name last night," If he won't be straight with her on his own, Maggie's willing to make him. "Billy."

Max freezes, "What about him?"

Maggie closes her eyes, "I need to know… if he's the Billy I knew."

"You knew someone? Someone there?"

"Billy." Her eyes snap open, "Billy McKenzie"

Max blinks, "Who was he?"

The girl draws a sharp breath and for a moment Max is pretty sure she's going to run out of the room in tears, but Maggie looks up and her wild eyes meet his, "My brother."

* * *

A/N-Why her brother's name is Billy= Official- The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill

Unofficial- Billy Don't Be a Hero

In my defense I said the next few chapters, but I promise they're will be more next time


	16. Chapter 16

16-421

They sit in silence for a minute or two. Max fears that if he breaks the quiet that settles over the room, Maggie herself might break. She's trembling and he can see her eyes watering.

Finally he can't stand it, "No." Maggie looks confused so he clarifies, "His name was Will, Will Campbell. We called him Billy as a joke. He hated it."

Maggie closes her eyes and nods, "Right, of course, I was just…I thought maybe…"

Max had seen many versions of Maggie Mae in the several months they had lived together. But never, never, has he seen this Maggie. An unstable young woman about to cry tears, real tears.

He reaches out and touches her hand which is trembling along with her lower lip. "Do you want to talk about it?"

It's funny how the table flips so easily with them. One minute Maggie's got Max cornered, and the next, he's pinned her down.

Maggie shakes her head, but after a beat opens her mouth and lets the river flow out.

"I had two brothers, one younger, one older. The oldest was Billy. He always liked to think of himself as a hero, and when they started asking for volunteers for the army, he gladly signed up. He was 20 and I was 19 at the time, and I was so angry at him for being so reckless and my parents for letting him." Maggie's tears ran down her cheeks and she grasped Max's hand tightly.

"I was so angry, I ran away from home to New York. I was going to be a dancer." She smiled, "I was real good too. But in two months, I ran out of money. That's when I got this gig and I tried to forget about my parents and my brothers." The smile vanished as quickly as it had come, "'Course, it wasn't that easy. Two years later…that goddamn idiot brother of mine," Maggie's voice grew higher, "He just had to be a hero, didn't he?! And what did that get him but a hole in the head?!" She let out a loud sob and chokes on her words, "I got a letter from my ma – don't know how she even found me – telling me Billy was gone, askin' me to come on home." She shook her head, "I hid in the back of the church, the coward I am, and visited his grave when everyone else had left. I still haven't talked to my parents and that was three years ago."

* * *

A/N- William Shears Campbell was a Paul McCartney look-alike. There is a "myth" in the Beatles, the PID (Paul Is Dead) hoax, which is supposedly, that Paul McCartney died in a car accident in the mid-60's (1966) and he was replaced by William Campbell, which might explain why the Beatles canceled all the live tours from then on.

How impressed are you with my naming skills?

Review!


	17. Chapter 17

17-

Max had never been the best at comforting people. He mostly avoided crying people, particularly crying women. But for some reason, he couldn't walk away from Maggie sitting at the kitchen table, with her face in her hands, the tears falling through her finger.

So Max moves his chair next hers and reaches out gently to touch her shoulder. Maggie flinches, but didn't move away. They sit like that for a few minutes, until Maggie's sobs turn to sniffles and she looks up at him with red-rimmed eyes.

"Sorry." She says quietly

Max shakes his head, "Nothin' to be sorry for."

Maggie sighs and turns her head towards the mess of dishes in the sink. "Someone should clean those up." Max nods in agreement, but neither of them made a move towards the counter.

"Your brother," Max ventures, "He made it two years, that's pretty impressive."

Maggie snorted, "Impressive my ass. He could have made it out of there alive."

"Some boys didn't even make it a few months."

"You did."

And just like that, the spotlight is back on Max. Maggie's eyes are dry and although he wants to bring up her past again (actually, anything not about him will do), Max knows he can't get out of it now. Maggie's bared her soul; it's his turn to open up.

"I didn't want to go in. I was having the time of my life in New York. Dropped out of college, moved in with a foxy singer with my best friend, nothing could touch me. Until Lucy came to visit with that damned letter." Max chuckles, "I tried everything to get out of it, even ate some fucking cotton."

Maggie laughs a little, "Why?"

"Ain't that important." Max waves his hand, "Point is, I was in, whether I wanted to be or not." He takes a deep breath, "It's a different world over there. I'd never seen death before and now he was sleeping in the bunk next to me. The shit I saw there…sure I could have died, but I'd rather be dead than see their faces every night. Asking me, why them? They had wives and kids and sweethearts and I was just some fucked up kid. Why do I get to live? As if this," He waves his hands, gesturing wildly at their apartment, "is a life."

Max drops his hands and Maggie stares at him. Her eyes are a little calmer and she smirks for a moment, "We're both pretty messed up."

"Two peas in a pod." Max says

Maggie nods thoughtfully then leans towards him and pulls his shirt so that they're eye to eye before capturing his lips in a kiss.

* * *

A/N- See Max? All you need is a sob story to get laid.

Reviews, pretty please? Even if it sucks, just tell me


	18. Chapter 18

18-

Maggie tastes like cigarettes and something sweet he can't put his finger on. Her skin is smooth, but her hands are rough. Her eyes are wider than he's ever seen them, and she's more aggressive than he'd thought.

But Max could care less. Because finally, finally, Maggie's in his bed, her dress is on the floor, and his pants…well he's not entirely where they are, somewhere between the kitchen and his room.

And most importantly, neither Max nor Maggie is drunk. This is for real.

Well, almost. Max is pretty sure some might call the situation taking advantage of Maggie, but he's just as emotionally unbalanced as she is, if not more so, so really, it's Maggie taking advantage of him. Or them taking advantage of each other.

Maggie pulls and Max loses his train of thought.

----

Max is gentler than she thought he'd be. He lets her take charge, find her way around his body in a way she's not used to. Those other times had been fast, quick, over and done with. This time they take it slow waiting for the explosion.

But Maggie could care less. She's patient enough to hold on, and Max is in no hurry. And for the first time in a long time she feels during sex. Feels the heat radiating off Max, feels her body screaming for his, feels as though she's more than just a toy.

And most importantly, she's pretty sure Max feels the same way.

Well, almost. After all, no man is perfect. Maggie knows this well and she refuses to let herself fall. Sure Max is responding, but what guy wouldn't? Maggie's scared to let Max be the answer to that question, and she knows it.

Max pushes and Maggie loses her train of thought.

* * *

A/N- Sorry this is so short, but I like it the way it is and didn't want to add more. I promise a long chapter next time.

Thanks for all your reviews! Keep them coming!


	19. Chapter 19

19-

Maggie can feel Max breathing softly next to her. His breath is warm against shoulder and his chest rises and falls against her back. Maggie blinks slowly to the rhythm and tries to process what just happened.

_Well alright_, her mind reasons, _it didn't just happen; the sex took place about two hours ago. _

_What the hell?!_ She thinks, _when it happened doesn't matter the point is it did! I swore to Penny I would never do this and I did!_

Max presses his mouth against her shoulder, appearing to be kissing it in his sleep, and Maggie groans inwardly. _What am I doing?_

_Enjoying yourself for once in your life_, whispers a small voice in the back of her head.

It's true. She hasn't had sex without motivation in a long time. And sure, there was the slight motivation to finally feel something. But that's hardly the same as doing it for money, or a place to stay. And with Max, the feeling was hardly an issue.

After all, what a feeling she had had! Maggie suppresses the urge to giggle like a schoolgirl as Max mumbles something into her shoulder. If she didn't know better, she might think…

_No! _The reasonable side of her mind fights with all its might. _You can't!_

_But… _

_No._

It's true. She can't. Penny would kill her. It would wreck her job. Maggie's seen what happens to girls with attachments in her profession. Who can perform properly with thoughts of someone special running through their head?

_Someone special?_ Is that what she thinks of Max?

_No!_

As if on cue, Max's mouth is lifted off her back and he yawns, "Morning lovely."

"It's noon." She replies, trying to stop herself from blushing at his word choice. What is wrong with her?

Max squints at the unused alarm clock on his dresser. "So it is." He kisses her curls and this time there's no fighting the blush. "Lunch then?"

They aren't supposed to be like this. She isn't supposed to be like this.

Maggie nods, "Sounds good. Let me take a shower."

_This is wrong. _

_

* * *

_

A/N-Sorry about taking so long, you guys. I've been really busy with school and AP tests and SATs.

So, as you can tell, this isn't that long. Originally I had the chapter after this as 19, but I felt bad leaving what happened open ended, especially since you wanted some more Max/Maggie cuteness, so I wrote this as a bridge. (Another reason it took me a while) As you can tell Maggie's having some doubts.

Please review! Also, I still want/need a beta!


	20. Chapter 20

20-

Penny Lane knows how to read people. In fact, you might say she's an expert on it. She would.

But irregardless of her self-assurance of her god-given talent, Penny knows when she sees little Maggie Mae walking, no, floating down the sidewalk, that someone just got laid.

And not the good kind either. Not the kind without commitment and money at the end of the night. Hell, not even the no commitment freebie. In fact, Maggie hasn't even had sex, she's made love. And it makes Penny sick.

"You're late." Maggie looks at her wrist like there might be a watch there. Both women know there never is.

"I'm always late." Maggie points out.

This is true, but Maggie never has a skip in her step, a bounce in her hair, or the red cheeks of a girl who just made love.

"You've been acting weird lately Penny." Maggie laughs and pulls a smoke from her little bag, "Want one?"

Penny shakes her head, "Anything you want to tell me Maggie?" Penny gives her friend one last shot to redeem herself.

"No." Maggie takes a drag from her cigarette and looks over at her friend, "Why?"

Penny takes a deep breath, "Eleanor told me you left the apartment."

Maggie nearly chokes on her smoke, "What?"

Penny repeats herself and Maggie shakes her head, "She fucking kicked me out Pen! Told me if I stole one more of her clients, she'd kill me!"

This sounds like El, so Penny moves on to her next question, "So where you living?"

"I found a place."

"You live by yourself?"

"I got a roommate."

"He the reason you're going crazy?"

Maggie goes into defensive mode, "What makes you think it's a guy?" She challenges.

Penny rolls her eyes, "If it wasn't a guy would you have come skipping down the sidewalk like a little girl?" The brunette says nothing, so Penny takes it a step further, "You're sleeping with him, aren't you?"

Maggie's cigarette falls to the ground and she glares sharply at the older woman, "So what if I am? It's none of your fucking business Penny!"

"He's going to distract Maggie!" Penny's frustrated now and her voice is getting louder and louder, attracting the attention to some of the girls on the corner. "Distract you until you can't work anymore and then destroy you when they're done. That's what guys do! Fucking use you and throw you away. Did I teach you nothing?"

"Yes Penny. You taught me everything. Happy now?"

"No!" Penny rants, "When you first got to this city you knew nothing! I took you in! I taught you all the tricks, all the rules! I made you what you are today; successful, independent."

"This isn't something to be proud of!" Maggie's close to tears and she knows she's got to leave before they fall. She doesn't know why she's arguing with Penny, why she saying this shit, God, she sounds like a fucking mom, no worse, she sounds like her own mom.

Penny stares her down, "Leave." She commands, "And don't come back until you've gotten rid of the fuck buddy."

"He's my roommate. And it's his apartment."

"If you want to do this, you'll give him up. You'll give it all up."

Maggie knows what Penny means, and she knows what she wants, but she isn't sure she can.

A/N- Yeah, Penny has some serious male-related issues.

Enjoy your long chapter! Sorry there's no Max =[

And reveiw! D


	21. Chapter 21

21-

Lucy Carrigan was never a fan of mornings.

She and her brother were very alike in that aspect.

So when the doorbell rang at five in the morning, Lucy made the wise decision to ignore it. But for some reason, the doorbell didn't seem to know what it was doing wrong. It kept ringing, and ringing, and ringing, and- "All right! All right! I'm coming!"

Lucy groped around in the darkness, careful not to hit Jude (the man could sleep like a log), to find her robe and sleepily made her way towards the buzzing door.

"Whoizit?" She squinted though the peephole to see a scantily clad woman with mascara running down here face outside.

"It's Maggie." The girl whispered and it took Lucy a minute to remember just who Maggie was.

"Maggie Mae?" She unlocked the door and opened it to let the other woman in, "What are you doing here?" Maggie sniffles a little in response, and Lucy realizes something was wrong. Maggie was hardly the type to cry much less sniffle.

"Is it my brother? Did he hurt you? I swear I'll kill him." Maggie lets out a choked laugh and shakes her curls.

"No, no, it's me, it's… it's always me." Maggie looked ready to dissolve back into tears again and Lucy led her over to the couch.

"It's alright," She smiled sympathetically, "You can sleep here tonight, and we'll talk in the morning, okay?"

Maggie nodded and tugs at the hem of her short dress, "Do you have anything I could change into?"

Lucy lets out a little 'oh!' and hurries back into her and Jude's dark room to get Maggie something more comfortable. When she comes back out, Maggie's made herself into a ball on the couch.

"Lucy?" She whispers when the other woman gets closer, "Could you do me a favor and not tell Max I'm here?"

Lucy nods, although she's not sure why, and hands Maggie the clothes before heading back to her bed.

Crawling under the covers, where Jude's kept the bed warm, Lucy can't help but feel like this isn't going to end well.

* * *

A/N- I know, no Max for two chapters!

Sorry it's been a while, I've been finishing a lot of projects for school right now. And I got my wisdom teeth removed today, so my mouth is in agony.

But reveiws might make it feel better!


	22. Chapter 22

22-

"Max?"

"Jude!"

"Yea mate, what's up?"

"Have you seen Maggie around?"

"What's this? A month ago you couldn't be happier to be rid of the girl and now that she's missing Max comes a'callin'?"

"Shut up you stupid Limy, she's been gone 3 days, I'm about to call the fucking cops."

"Wait, you really don't know where she is, mate?"

"No, why else would I be calling you to ask?"

"I dunno, thought it was a joke."

"So you know where she is?"

"Yeah, she's here."

"All this time?"

"I think so. I mean she's come and gone, but for the most part she's been crashing on our couch."

"Is she there right now?"

"Lemme check…yep, reading some book of Lucy's. You wanna talk to her?"

"No, no. I'll be right over."

"Alright."

"And Jude?"

"Yeah mate?"

"Don't tell her I'm coming."

Jude stared at the now dead phone in his hand. "Something tells me this isn't going to end up well." He muttered before hanging up the phone and returning to his art.


	23. Chapter 23

23-

Maggie knows that Max is coming. She knew he would back when she had come to Lucy and Jude's apartment three days ago. Listening to the conversation between Jude and Max just confirmed it.

What Maggie didn't know was what she was going to say to him when he came.

Somehow she's sure saying, "Sorry I slept with you and then left and now can't stay with you because I'd rather have the comfort of knowing who I am than someone who might actually care about me" won't go over too well.

She wishes Lucy was here. The strawberry-blonde had become somewhat of a confidant over the past couple days. Lucy had managed to get the whole story out of Maggie and tried to give her some advice.

Of course, most of Lucy's advice was to give up what she was doing, get a real job, and go back to Max, but still, she was a comfort.

But Lucy is not here, so Maggie decides to settle for the next best thing. "Jude?" She calls.

Jude pops his head through the door of his studio and gives her a nervous grin, "Yeah Mags?"

"Please don't let him in." She says, getting right to the point.

Jude pales, not realizing Maggie had heard him, "Maggie, I-"

She cuts him off, "Please Jude, I can't talk to him. Maybe in a few days, but not yet."

"It's been three days Maggie. Surely whatever happened between the two of you is in the past." Jude comes all the way out of the door way and sits down on next to her on the couch.

"It's not about us." She responds frustrated, "It's about me."

"What do you mean?" He puts a hand on her shoulder but she shrugs it off.

"Nothing, never mind. Just, please Jude, don't let him come in."

Jude shakes his head, "I'm sorry Maggie, but the two of you need to talk this out."

Maggie opens her mouth to respond but a loud fist banging on the door interrupts her, "Maggie, it's Max! Open the door, we need to talk!"

"See?" says Jude. Maggie feels like she might start crying again.

* * *

A/N- What's this? Two updates? Well the first one was so short I couldn't leave it at that. And this one's average sized, so together they make one large update!

And now- Reviews Elocin never responded to because she's a bad person!

Ella Not Lotte- oh no! You reveiwed twice and I never responded =[ Okay, one- thanks! I'm glad you like Penny, she's a character I have a hard time writing. And two- Maggie went from her argument with Penny to Jude and Lucy's, Max has no idea what's going on with her, and she wants to give it up and be with Max, but she's afraid to start over.

jess1z1- Thanks! And most people seem to ;]

mstef- I know, I always want to type out four page chapters, but I know I'd give it up after, like, 10 chapters because I can't keep up with that. The short format scares me less, even though I still take forever to update!

Keep those reviews coming! They keep Max and Maggie alive!


	24. Chapter 24

24-

When Jude lets Max in, Maggie imagines he'll come in with a bang, yelling and screaming, waving his fists over his head, a hammer in one hand.

(Although she's not too sure where the hammer came from)

But Max does the opposite. Once his frantic banging ceases and Jude opens the door, Max strolls in calmly. As though nothing is wrong, as though he's just come to visit his sister and his best friend. As though Maggie isn't here at all.

And that scares Maggie. At least yelling is something she can swallow. This eerie calmness is so unlike the Max she expected. She's known Max long enough to know that the only time he's like this is when he's actually calm. And if the phone call and the knocking are any clue, Maggie also knows Max is the farthest thing from calm right now.

Still, Max doesn't freak out when he walks into her sight and they meet eyes. Instead he gives her a smile and crashes down on the sofa next to her. The image of his smile is stuck in her mind and she dissects it, it isn't his normal boyish grin, it's too…mature.

"So…" Max inspects a hole in his jeans and Maggie stiffens, "This is where you've been."

Maggie can feel the lump in her throat and the clothes she's borrowed from Lucy seem oddly uncomfortable. Lucy is taller and Maggie is curvier, so she guesses it makes sense, but still it's suddenly more noticeable and Max is waiting for an answer even though he hasn't asked a question, but Maggie knows if she tries to talk, the tears will fall and she's cried enough. So she stares at the carpet.

Max, sensing he wasn't going to get anything out of her, tries again, "Why didn't you come back? You said you had to go to work, but you never came back."

Maggie formulates an answer, the perfectly constructed avoidance, but the truth slips out instead, "My boss doesn't want me staying with you anymore."

Max blinks once, twice, and looks up at Jude, who has been standing awkwardly in the kitchen. Jude shrugs and quickly scampers off to his studio, shutting the door soundly behind him. Max is on his own.

"Do you not want to stay with me anymore? Is it because we slept together? Because frankly, I thought you wanted to…" He trails off, unwilling to ask her what he's been asking himself. Was it real? Do you really feel something? Is it passion or love or both or nothing?

Maggie shakes her head, "I…I want to, Max. But I can't." The tears fight to come out, but Maggie holds her own.

"Because of your boss? Why can't you quit? I'm sure Lucy can get you a job as a waitress, she knows people."

Maggie's head shoots up from the carpet, "It's complicated Max!" She shrieks, her voice growing louder as she continues, "She's not just my boss, she's my friend. And I can't quit! I didn't start just to quit and be a fucking waitress! Do you know how much I make a night? Don't I keep the lights on and the water warm? Do you think I can do that on a shitty waitress salary? I don't want to be a waitress! I like my job, I-"

Max didn't come here to be yelled at, "Jesus fucking Christ Maggie!" He yells back, the calm demeanor gone, his voice topping hers, "Don't you realize it's not a job? You're a whore! A dirty no good robbing fucking whore! And I don't care if we have lights or water because I'd rather you live with me then sleep with strangers. I fucking care about you Maggie! Okay? For the first time in a long time I fucking care about something and I'm not going to loose it, okay?" Max's voice quiets, "Not this time. You can quit, I know you can. You don't have to be a waitress. Try and be a dancer again, or something, anything."

"Max-" Maggie's voice is softer now too and she reaches out to touch his arm, but he jerks it out of her grasp.

"Don't." He shakes his head, "No pity, remember?"

* * *

A/N- Am I mean for stopping it here? Nah, believe it or not, it's my longest update ever so I'm amazing right now. Bow at my feet! And review.


	25. Chapter 25

25-

They sit on the sofa quietly for a long time. Jude peeks out of his studio every once in a while to make sure they're still there, and not shagging in his bed or dead, but other then that, they're alone.

Every so often, one of them will look up at the other, before looking away.

Maggie observes Max from the corner of her eye. It surprises her, because she's looked at Max millions of times, but now she really sees him. She looks at the details. He usually has stubble on his chin, a blond beard if he gets lazy and doesn't shave for a few days, but now the beard is there, plus a mustache. He looks worn. His clothes hang off his skinny frame and the brunette wonders if it's possible for a person to loose half their body weight in only a few days. There are bags under his eyes and bags under those.

And Maggie knows it's her fault, and all she wants to do is make Max better. But what she doesn't know is how.

She observes her hands, clasped together tightly in her lap, before sneaking another look at Max. Maggie sits upright, her spin straight. He slouches against the couch, defeated.

Max looks at Maggie when she stares ahead. He's used to seeing her in revealing dresses, short skirts, loose shirts. Now she's wearing Lucy's clothes which are tight on her chest and hips, but baggy around her legs. Maggie looks lost and Max knows it isn't his fault. She isn't his problem and she doesn't want to be.

Finally Maggie gives into the silence, "Max, I can't give it all up." She admits. Her voice is a little hoarse from the yelling.

"Can't or won't?"

He reminds her of her father, which makes Maggie inwardly wince, "A little bit of both I guess."

"Are you happy doing it?"

She is sometimes, when she's in control, when the guy begs, when he needs her. And when she and the girls shout at the men walking past, gossiping in between. But not when she's left alone on the corner, alone in the hotel room. Not when they're handsy, not when they're rough. Not when she's bruised or bleeding, and Penny whispers that it's for the best.

But Maggie only tells Max "Sometimes"

"Are you happy with me?"

The answer hardly needs deliberation, "Yes."

"Then why Maggie? Why can't you give it up for me?" Max just wants to know, she doesn't need to change her mind, just explain it.

Maggie hesitates, but the truth worms its way out of her, "I'm scared."

* * *

A/N- Hey those who are still with me.

I'm really sorry for the lack of updates recently. I've been away for the summer, but I also hit a serious inspiration block for this story. I've got a vague idea of where I want the story to go once they finally get out of Lucy and Jude's apartment, but I never really pictured Max and Maggie with a happy-go-lucky-let's-get-married-and-have-kids ending, so I don't have a stable idea of where I want it to end. So, the next couple updates will some out relativly fast, but beyond that I hope you'll be patient with me.

Thanks! And please review!


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26-

When Jude later recounts the tale to Lucy, she asks him a million questions. The main one being, 'why?' which lead Jude to wonder just what the Carrigans and their obsession with that question, was.

Because as soon as Maggie admitted just why she couldn't give up her old life for a new one with Max, the blonde immediately repeated the question.

"Why?"

Maggie shook her head, "I can't believe I'm about to tell you this story. When I first came to New York, I was going to be a dancer." She smiled, the first in a long time, "I told you that, right?"

Max nodded

"Well, when I ran out of money, before I met Penny, my boss, I became a waitress. It was easy, I was good at it. With tips I made enough cash to pay my rent and keep looking for dancing work. Then I met this guy." She laughed a little, but harshly, "He was real sweet, used to come in the restaurant all the time, made sure to sit at my table, always left a big tip. One day he tells me he works on Broadway- that he can get me an audition for a new show opening soon. I didn't know how he knew I was a dancer, but I didn't care I was so thrilled.

"He gives me the address, tells me when to come, and to wear something pretty. I had only been in the city a couple of months, and this was the closest I had come. I think part of me knew it was wrong, but I wanted fame so badly, so I go.

"It was some abandoned apartment, and sufficed to say, it wasn't an audition." Maggie shuddered and Max hesitantly wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"That's why you won't dance or waitress?" Max asks

"No," She replies, "That's why I won't leave my job. When I finally got out of there, I just ran, didn't even know where I was going, didn't stop until I literally ran into someone."

"Penny?"

"Bingo." Maggie says, "She helped me get past it. She taught me how to protect myself." Her voice grew softer with shame, "I'm afraid to live without Penny, without the safety she's given me."

Max pulls her closer, "Would it be totally lame to tell you I'll always protect you?"

Maggie chokes between a sob and laugh, but manages to nod.

* * *

A/N- So as lame as it is, I've been suffering from a major lack of inspiration recently, hence my hiatus. And the fact that school's started isn't much of a help.

So I'm not, I repeat, not giving up on Maggie Mae, but I'm hoping you'll all be understanding when I fail at updating my short-ass chapters. The story was meant to be something I could update with no issues, because I didn't have to worry about making each chapter 20 pages, but unfourtunetly, it doesn't matter how long/short the chapters are, you can't update when you don't have a story, and right now I'm lacking inspiration. This storyline's winding down now that Maggie's secrets out, and I'm trying to come up with some more drama to inflict Maggie and Max with, but because I don't really have an endpoint for the story yet, I don't know where I want to take them.

I suppose I could just make them live happily ever after, but what fun would that be?

But anyway, please reveiw! Maybe you have a great idea of what should happen next...


	27. Chapter 27

27-**  
**

Max and Maggie leave Jude and Lucy's apartment right after Lucy gets home. They playfully bump shoulders as they walk back to their own home, Maggie carrying a bag with the few possessions she came with. The conversation is light. They've talked about enough for tonight.

The only problem, Max thinks as he watches Maggie swing her hips up the stairs, they haven't come to a solution.

Yes, she's back in the apartment. But is Maggie going to quit? What are they now? Will she try to do something? Be something?

The questions swim in his head and Max tries to shake them out. Who you are, is what you do, what you do, is who you are. Was there even a difference?

"Max, you alright?" Max has stopped midway on the stairs and Maggie looks back, confused.

"Fine" He says, trying on a reassuring glance. Maggie looks at him doubtfully, but turns back and continues up the stairs, "Hurry up, I'm exhausted and want to sleep in my own bed. Jude and Lucy's couch is worse than ours."

"I can join you if you want." Max resumes his climb, two steps at a time, catching up just as Maggie unlocks the door.

"Max if we fuck every time one of us has a sob story, we'll never sleep."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

Maggie laughs, "Night Max."

Max watches her saunter into her room before going into his own, hoping tonight, the nightmares won't come.

* * *

A/N-Hey it hasn't been that long!


	28. Chapter 28

28-

It's been over 2 weeks and Maggie still can't work up the courage to leave her corner.

She pays off El to lie to Penny and say they're rooming again. She lightens her client load, only going every other day or even less. Max doesn't complain about the sudden downturn in income. Lucy keeps 'accidentally' leaving help wanted fliers at their apartment.

Sadie and Jojo visit. Sadie gets Maggie to sing and then asks her if she'd be interested in a career as a backup singer. Maggie knows for a fact she can't sing for shit.

Then the third week comes and Max has a suggestion.

"Why don't you just go cold turkey?"

"What d'you mean?" Maggie pauses midway in the process of putting on lipstick. Her hand hovers in the air, unsure where to go.

"I mean, stop going. Completely." Max is standing in the doorway, Maggie watches him in the mirror.

"I-I can't." Maggie shakes her head, but puts the lipstick down on the dresser.

Max rolls his eyes and leans on the doorframe, "Of course you can."

"We need the money."

"We can make it without the money."

"You just want me to have sex with you again." Maggie picks up the lipstick again and applies it quickly.

"While true, that's not the reason."

"Then what is?"

Max sighs and walks forward; Maggie keeps her eyes on the mirror. "I've seen you Mags. You're miserable there. When you leave you look like you're on death row and when you come back it's like someone just saved your life."

Maggie opens her mouth to protest, but Max cuts her off, "When you're with Lucy or me, you're happy, I know. But Maggie you're wasting your life there. You don't even like it anymore, do you?"

"I like it just fine." She looks down guiltily at the dresser, unable to even make eye contact in the mirror."

Max snorts, "Well that's a lie if I've ever heard one."

"Argh!" Maggie wheels around angrily, eyes wild, "Fine, I don't like it anymore. And fine, I'll go fucking cold turkey." She pokes him in the chest, "But if you think I'm filling up my extra time sleeping with you, you can just go take a fucking cold shower right now, because it is not happening!"

Max just smiles. Maggie rolls her eyes and storms off into the kitchen to get a beer.

* * *

A/N- I love Maggie's last line

Review please!


	29. Chapter 29

29-**  
**

Ms. Penny Lane is pissed, seriously dangerously pissed off.

Maggie Mae has disappeared. Completely, off the map disappeared, and Penny has a pretty good idea where.

A man? Honestly! Where is Maggie's head?

Penny leans against the brick wall of her usual corner and inhales a long drag of her cigarette, holding it in for a minute before giving her lungs the sweet release. Penny loves the burning feeling; it brings her down to earth.

Unlike Maggie, who is clearly off planet at the moment.

The blonde had worried at first about her friend (because, fuck it all, they were friends), but tried to stay calm about it. All the girls went through this at one point. Met a boy they cared just a little too much about. Felt a feeling they thought they could call love. And most girls got through it.

And Penny thought Maggie was most girls.

_Maybe you're wrong_. An all too familiar voice in her head hisses. _Maybe she's not who you thought she was._

As much as Penny wants to argue, she knows she can't. Instead she takes another drag.

At this point there are only a few options. One- Track Maggie down, force her to realize what she was doing, what her future was going to be. Two- Forget Maggie, find a new little girl to show the magic. Or three- Well, there is no three.

There is however more than one way to do her first option, Penny realizes as she lets out the smoke and watches it curl into the air, disappearing into the night. Ways that didn't even involve Maggie, just the right man, a little bit of money, and a gun.

Penny chuckles to herself as she flicks the butt away, its glowing embers dying on the street. No boy can steal what's Penny Lane's.

* * *

A/N- Whoo, that girl is crazy. But I know you all love your looks into Penny Lane's mind.

Review please?


	30. Chapter 30

30-

Everyday she waits for Penny Lane to show up at her door. Corner her in the hallway, like priest to the sinner who won't admit he's wronged.

What's her sin? Sex before marriage? Penny had that covered before Maggie even knew it could happen.

Maggie knows she can't leave it all behind. Erase six years of her life, pretend they never happened. Not even for Max. She can't act as though they're a minor blemish on an otherwise perfect record. Mainly because the record's already far from perfection.

No, it's part of who she is.

Still, when she catches sight of Max, truly happy she's at home at night, proud of her giving it up, Maggie wonders if it's for the better.

The subconscious tug-of-war rages on.

She's working with Jude now. Well, sort of. The Brit does mostly freelance, but there's a magazine he does illustrations for. Enough illustrations apparently to get Maggie a secretary job. Although it isn't as secretary as Maggie thought.

The magazine operates out of a small shop a few blocks away from their apartment, small enough to fit about five people at a time. So Maggie mostly does errands, pickling up coffee, lunch, paper, ink. It's nice because she's outside, sans one day a week where she answers phones, or phone, as there's only one, but Maggie doesn't love it.

"Maybe you should take a couple dance classes." Max suggests when she complains to him after a week, "Brush up on your skills, audition somewhere."

Maggie snorts, "The only place around here to dance is a strip joint. And I think that's the opposite of what I'm trying to achieve."

It's not the first time she's considered going back to dance, she doubts it will be the last. But for right now, she's not ready, and the secretary job will have to do.

That is, until Penny Lane finds her.

* * *

A/N- That last sentence is a thought, not a fact. Although Penny Lane will return, I've got a different plot in mind...

Muhaha

Review?


	31. Chapter 31

31-

The loud echo of the door slamming shut follows Max up the stairs as he makes his way up to the apartment.

On the third floor he realizes he's forgotten to check the mail and jogs down the steps to the beaten tin box in the wall that holds the rare letter or two. Sadie's promised to send him her newest track and it should be arriving any day now.

There's no record, but there is a letter postmarked for two days ago and addressed to someone named Margaret McKenzie. It takes Max a few minutes before he remembers Maggie is a nickname for Margaret. Another few seconds and he can't believe Maggie's never told him her real name. Or that he's never asked.

The curiosity of who would be writing his Maggie overcomes Max and he dashes up the stairs, huffing and puffing by the time he reaches the apartment.

"Maggie, Maggie, Maggie!" The aforementioned girl is reading at the kitchen table, a lit cigarette dangling from her fingers.

"Yeah Max?" She takes a drag, not looking up from her book, and gently blows the smoke out the open window, where the sound of the city can be heard below.

Max tosses the letter on the table in front of her, "You've got mail."

Maggie sets her book down on the table without marking her page and looks back and forth from the letter to Max several times before hesitantly reaching across the table to put out her cigarette in the ashtray. She picks up the letter tenderly, as though it might explode, and stares blankly at the handwriting on the front of the envelope.

'_She knows who sent it.'_ Max thinks, watching as Maggie reach into her pocket and pulls out her lighter.

"What are you doing?" His eyes widen as Maggie flicks a flame into existence and feeds it with her mail. "Don't you wanna know what it says?"

"I know what it says," Maggie replies, eyes never leaving the burning paper, "bad news."

Max is reminded of his own letter burning a lifetime ago and lets the issue drop. Maggie tosses the fire out the window.

* * *

A/N- And the new plot begins! Sorry for taking forever with my updates, applying to college and school nonsense takes up all my time.


	32. Chapter 32

32-

A second letter arrives only a few days later. It's identical to its predecessor, but Max decides he won't let it suffer the same fate.

He doesn't even try to give it to Maggie. Instead, she's shown the letter and then forced to jump for it.

"Ma-a-x!" She whines stretching for the letter dangling from Max's fingertips. Even when she's in platform boots, he's a good head taller than her. "It's my fucking letter! This is like, an invasion of privacy."

Max shrugs in a what-can-you-do way, and looks down her shirt as she attempts to reach on her tiptoes. It doesn't take long for Maggie to notice and she quickly backs off, crossing her arms as she goes.

"So who sent it?" He lowers his arm and turns the letter over in his hands, holding it up to a lamp to try and see the secrets hidden under the envelope.

Maggie makes another grab, but Max holds her off with one arm easily, "I dunno, I haven't opened it yet."

Max shakes his head, "Liar"

"Excuse me?"

"You're lying. You knew who sent the last one, and this is clearly from the same person."

Maggie growls in frustration, "If I tell you will you give me the letter?"

Max nods with a smirk, "All you have to do is ask."

The brunette lets out an impatient sigh but concedes all the same, "It's from my mom." She sticks her hand out, "Now can I please have it?"

Max looks down at the letter in his hand, dumbfounded by the truth, "Really?"

"That's her handwriting." Maggie says, mumbling under her breath, "Though I never know how the hell she keeps finding me."

Max considers his options for a moment and then quickly dashes to his room before Maggie has time to react and locks the door.

"What the fuck Max?" Maggie bangs on the door, completely unaware he could move that fast.

Max just rips open the letter, rolling his eyes at her cursing him to the heavens; as though he was going to let her burn it now that he knew what the letter was.

* * *

A/N-Double update!

I think this chapter kind of proves I have no idea how the postal service works today or in the 70's.

Also, Maggie's mom is kind of a stalker.


	33. Chapter 33

33- **  
**

'_Dear Margaret,'_ begins the letter. Max thinks it's an unusually normal beginning for such an abnormal thing.

'_I'm hoping this is your address. The letters I sent to your former address were finally answered by a young woman who informed me you had left. I don't know if you've gotten any of my other letters, and if you have, I'm sorry to repeat what I usually say._

'_That being said, we all miss you very much. Grammy's gone a bit odd in her old age and often thinks I'm you and she gets very upset when she realizes I'm not. Johnny's looking at colleges. I don't know if you remember, he's eighteen this year. I'm trying to get him to look at schools in New York so he could see you. Maybe even visit. _

'_Oh Margaret, I still don't understand what we did to chase you away. I know we had our disagreements when your brother left_, _but I_ _never thought it was so bad you would cut us off completely. I miss you. Your father misses you. Johnny misses you._

_And well, Maggie, there's no other way to say this, I've been putting it off, but you need to know, your father is sick. We don't know how much longer he'll be with us. I think the two of you need to see one another one last time. There's so much left unsaid and it would mean the world to him and me if you would visit._

_Please write me back, our address is the same. But things here, well Margaret, they aren't the same without you and your brother. I've already lost one child, please; I need to know I haven't lost another._

'_I love you, _

_Mom'_

Maggie's stopped banging on the door, stopped screaming at him, but he can hear her choking back tears. Max opens the door slowly; Maggie's sitting on the floor with her back against the wall next to it. He lowers himself down to her and hands her the letter.

Maggie rubs her wet eyes angrily with her sleeve. She folds the letter, stands up, and walks away. Max decides it's an improvement that she doesn't burn the letter.

And when he hears her crying later that night, he can't help but peek in her room to check the cause.

Sure enough, the letter is clenched between her two hands. Max walks in and sits on the bed with her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Maggie leans against his chest and he rests his chin on the top of her head. The letter drops to the floor.

"I can't see them." She whispers. They fall asleep in that position.

* * *

A/N- So, there's really no excuse for not updating for two months, but I'm gonna give you guys one anyway.

I hate this chapter. I rewrote this letter so many time, it was ridiculous. So here's some of my thought process in case you found it confusing. Maggie's mom doesn't even know if these letters are even getting to her daughter. Sometimes she'll write everyday, sometimes not for months. Since Maggie's never responded, her mom's letters are often the same letter written over and over again in different order. And that order doesn't always make sense. So basically the letter's not some special declaration, it's just the only one Maggie's ever read, and it doesn't make sense because her mom's gone a little loopy when writing these.

In other news, thank you to everyone that reviewed who I didn't respond to. And to my two Beta offers, I'd gladly take both of you! I'm not sure how betaing works on , so if you guys could tell me what I have to do, that'd be great. Then maybe I won't have any more chapters like these...


	34. Chapter 34

34-

Max knows he's in no place to critique Maggie on her family issues considering his relationship with his parents, but he does all the same.

"You should go." He says when they wake up the next morning.

He's almost as persistent as when he wanted sex. Maggie might even say he's worse.

"I'll come with you."

It's not that she doesn't want to go, Maggie later explains to Lucy; it's that she can't go. Lucy claims pride will be Maggie's ultimate downfall.

But Maggie knows better, it isn't pride, it's pain. The last time she went home was due to a death and she thinks if she just doesn't go her father will be left alive. The instant she decides to go home, she'll be signing his death warrant.

"You can make me reunite with my folks after."

She hasn't the heart to throw the letter out yet. Instead she sits and traces her mother's handwriting while Max drinks a beer and watches her.

Their heat gets shut off for a while, but neither Maggie nor Max notice.

"Your dad's sick Mags, come on."

It isn't until a month after the letter that Max can no longer stand it. He borrows Lucy and Jude's car (he could never figure out why they even had one, but he's grateful for it now), packs both Maggie and him a bag, and kidnaps Maggie at 3 in the morning, throwing her over his shoulder fireman's style and tossing her in the car, while she thrashes all the way.

He's never been prouder of his strength.

* * *

A/N- 1/2


	35. Chapter 35

35-

Lucy gets the call around 8 AM while trying to make breakfast for her and Jude. The lazy Brit (and she means that in the most loving way possible) isn't up yet, and she's hoping the smell of eggs and bacon will bring him out of the bedroom.

It's Maggie, calling to demand Lucy inform her brother kidnapping is against the law.

"What?" Lucy drops her spatula and grasps the phone, which had been wedged between her ear and shoulder, with her hands.

"I said, could you please inform your brother kidnapping is illegal." Maggie repeats in the phone slowly, Lucy still isn't sure she's processed the information correctly so she asks Maggie to repeat it one more time.

The curly-haired girl on the other end groans, "Max threw me in the car, your car, this morning and we've been driving for hours, and I think he's lost but he won't ask for directions, and he's driving me crazy, and I think he's trying to make me go home, Lucy help! I need someone to help!"

Now Lucy understands and tries her best to calm her friend, "Maggie, Max is trying to help you."

"Well he's not doing a very good job." Maggie whines in a tone very unlike her, "I don't want to see my parents."

"What about your brother?" Lucy tries to imagine not seeing Max for years.

Maggie's quiet on the other end for a few seconds, "They're going to ask questions." She finally mumbles.

"You don't have to tell them everything Maggie." Lucy says.

"You mean lie?"

"Not telling isn't the same thing as lying."

Maggie sighs, "I guess as long as Max keeps his big trap shut my mother will never know."

At this Lucy can't help but laugh, "I'd suggest giving him the correct directions to your house too, Max can be pretty annoying when it comes to road trips. Jude still complains about how impossible he was when they first came to New York."

Maggie smiles into the phone, "Alright Lucy, thanks for your help."

"Anytime"

* * *

A/N- So I'm finally a second semester senior in high school! My last midterms were today and in celebration I decided to put not one short chapter, but one short chapter and one medium chapter up! How lucky are you guys?

(Seriously though, I'm hoping updates will really be more regular now. I won't be getting any huge assignments any time soon, so I'll be using this time to work on my writing)

Review!


	36. Chapter 36

36-

They reach Cleveland, Ohio by sundown. Max had gotten them quite off-track for a while, but with a map and Maggie's memory of Ohio roadways, they get there all the same.

Maggie suggests they get a motel room and head to her family's house in the morning. Max agrees and Maggie breathes a sigh of relief. One more night to adjust to the idea of seeing her family again.

Despite Max's protests, they get a room with two beds. Maggie supposes it's just as well because by the time she's out of the shower, Max is fast asleep.

Sleep doesn't come nearly as easily for her.

Instead, Maggie tosses and turns, thinking of the last time she returned home.

It had been cold. Most likely because it was January and snowing, but Maggie didn't remember snow, just an infinite coldness that never seemed to cease. She took the greyhound bus and didn't recall anyone sitting next to her, or talking to her.

They probably thought she was homeless. She remembers feeling homeless.

When she finally arrived home, the town seemed deserted. Everyone was in the church. Everyone loved Billy, everyone wanted to be there for his funeral.

The church wasn't usually anything to look at. There was nothing special about it, just a white building with a cross on top, but that day it seemed to glow, beckoning Maggie to enter. She felt warmth spread from the inside out the moment she stepped in. The same kind of warmth she got whenever Billy hugged her.

However, the warmth might have actually come from the tightly pack bodies standing wall-to-wall. Then, Maggie doubted she could get to her parents if she wanted to.

She realizes now she could have. People knew her, they would have moved, but Maggie didn't want that.

So she stood in the back and watched on her tip-toes as her mother crumbled and saw her father cry for the first time and Johnny just stand there with a blank face looking lost.

Maggie remembers a voice in her head, sounding like her brother, beckoning her forward into the arms of her broken family. Maggie remembers chocking on her tears and turning to run, into the cold, away from her family, her home.

The hotel sheets strangle her and Maggie wakes sweating heavily, haunted by the warmth, the light, and the voice. She didn't even realize she had fallen asleep.

* * *

A/N- So I lied. I got complete and utter writer's block and almost gave up on Maggie Mae.

But then I visited London this summer and saw Liverpool and took this Beatles Tour and when we went down Lime Street and they played Maggie Mae and I got so excited from the trip, I knew I had to continue the story. So hopefully, I'll get back in the swing soon.

In the meantime, enjoy and review! And a big thank you if you stuck with me.


	37. Chapter 37

37-

The McKenzie house looks like every other house on its street.

Max doesn't know what he was expecting, but somehow he knows it wasn't this. Maggie Mae should come from more than this, more than identical houses on a typical suburban street.

Then again, Max supposes Maggie Mae came from New York. This house was where Margaret McKenzie came from.

Maggie won't get out of the car. She's just staring at the house in disbelief. "I can't believe I let you drag me here," she says as Max attempts to pull her from the car.

"Come on Mags. Don't you think they've noticed the weirdos on their front lawn by now? You can't run away now."

The logic is infallible. Especially since Maggie can see a head of brown hair, two eyes, and a nose peering from around a curtain. Johnny must be pretty tall by now; he was almost level with the top of the window.

"I'm not running, I'm sitting," but she stands all the same, flinging Max, who had continued pulling at her, down onto the grass. He groans at impact and Maggie rolls her eyes and offers him a hand.

"You're such a wimp," she says, eyes never leaving the house and the window. The brown hair disappears as Max gets up and they walk up the pathway.

"So you think they'll even recognize me?" Maggie plays with a curl near her ear.

Max grins, "You're pretty hard to forget."

She glares and Max sighs, his voice taking a more serious tone, "I doubt they forgot you Maggie. I don't think anyone could ever forget you."

They reach the front door in no time. Maggie bites her lip and turns to give Max a quick peck on the lips. "Thanks," she mumbles. Max blinks and Maggie takes a quick breath before jabbing her finger out to ring the doorbell.

There's silence for a moment, nothing coming out of the house or its two visitors before a loud banging erupts from inside.

"Coming, coming, coming!" A cheery voice chirps. Maggie looks horrified as the door swings open.

If Max had ever wondered what Maggie would look like in thirty years, he no longer had to. In front of him is an older version of the girl standing next to him, complete with crow's feet in the corners of her multicolored eyes and streaks of gray in her curly brown hair.

Maggie's mother eyes widened and she let out a gasp.

"Margaret?"

Maggie smiled weakly, "Hi mom."

* * *

A/N- And we're finally there. Review please!


	38. Chapter 38

38-

"Margaret?"

"Hi mom."

Max glances between the two women, near spitting images of each other, neither saying a word. He briefly considers introducing himself, but quickly discards the idea when Maggie's mom drops the bowl she's been holding and the spoon she's been stirring with, and wraps her arms tightly around her daughter.

"Oh Maggie!" she cries.

Max jumps out of the way of the spilling mixture. Maggie wiggles in her mother's embrace, attempting to escape it. "Hi mom," she repeats.

"Oh my God!" Her mother squeezes tighter, "I can't believe it's you! I thought...well, we thought, maybe something had happened. Did you get my letters?"

Finally, Maggie is released and she smiles unsurely, "I got some of them," she admits.

The older woman holds her at arms length and observes her with a motherly eye. "You're so skinny!" she exclaims, "And so much older. Oh my baby!" Maggie is engulfed in another hug, but this time manages to escape suffocation.

"Sorry it took me so long to come home," Maggie says quietly when her mother lets her go.

Maggie's mother shakes her head, tears have gathered in her eyes, "All that's important is that you're here now." She looks down at her arms, which now hang limply by her sides, and then farther down to the spilled bowl, just now realizing she dropped it, then back up to the person standing next to the mess.

Max gives her a smile he hopes looks charming and offers a hand, "I'm Max Carrigan, I'm Maggie's-"

"Boyfriend," Maggie interrupts, "He's my boyfriend."

Although Max wasn't entirely sure how he was going to finish his sentence, he was going more in a roommates direction, but Maggie leans into him and Max wraps the arm not extended around her, and Maggie's mom looks pleased.

"Pam McKenzie," She grips Max's hand and shakes it eagerly, "Oh come in, you two!" Pam grabs the fallen bowl and spoon and steps aside to allow the 'couple' to enter the house.

Max gets the feeling this will be an interesting visit.

* * *

A/N- Oh Maggie and Max, what have you gotten yourselves into?

Review please!


End file.
